Sicomed and Ozone clash over Antinevralgic

Pharmaceuticals company Ozone has temporarily halted sales of Antinevrin and Dicarb following the decision of the Bucharest Court of Law in a case brought by Sicomed Bucharest. The Bucharest drug maker accused the Romanian office of UK company Ozone of anti-competitive policies through its use of names similar to those of Sicomed for two of its products. The drugs sold by Sicomed are Antinevralgic and Dicarbocalm, while Ozone”s products are called Antinevrin and Dicarb. The legal case brought by Sicomed is based on a survey by the GfK research institute. The study shows that 93% of heartburn sufferers thought the Dicarb and Dicarbocalm names were similar, while 89% of painkiller users said the Antinevralgii name used for Antinevrin was similar to Antinevralgic. “Sicomed is taking all the necessary legal steps to obtain a final court decision on the prohibition of production and sale of drugs under these names,” said Klaas Postema, Sicomed”s general manager. “We will definitely launch an appeal. Until an irrevocable decision is made, we will suspend the sale of the drugs in question,” said Dan Schiopu, Ozone”s general manager. Company officials say that Dicarb is registered as a nutritional supplement and does not compete with Dicarbocalm, which is a drug. However, that still leaves Antinevrin, for which the registration decision is expected to be issued by the OSIM (State Office for Inventions and Trademarks), Ozone officials explain. The actual trial is scheduled to begin on October 11. The temporary halt of sales was decided by an order of the chairman of the court. ZF